I Will Survive Right?
by CaliGirlLuvsBrit
Summary: Cali could survive being kidnapped, and living in the Underworld, Olympus, and Camp Half-Blood, but can she survive being a goddess? Or an arranged marriage? I'll try to make it so you don't have to read Annabeth's Struggle First. Rated T because I'm majorly paranoid...Thanks! Cali
1. One Year Later

I Will Survive…Right?

**A/N: Alright, if you haven't read my first story, Annabeth's Struggle, I highly suggest that you do so you know some of the OC's, and you'll understand what's happening. This is a spin-off from that particular story, and it will tell my character's story. Thanks for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I own Calisto, but I don't own the Red Pyramid Persephone, Hades, Ace Ashford, or Nico…*cries in a corner* Hey! I do own the plot! YAY!**

**Cali's POV:**

I sat at the dining table eating lunch while reading my favorite book at the time, The Red Pyramid. My brothers—well, step-brothers, I guess—Ace and Nico walked in and groaned.

"Cali, do you always have to read at the table?" Nico complained. I rolled my eyes. _Here we go again, _I thought.

"It makes me nauseas just watching you read," Ace added. I looked at him with mock sympathy.

"Oh, you poor baby," I cooed, sticking out my bottom lip. He stuck out his tongue at me and I laughed. "Anyway, what day is it?" It's really hard to keep track of time in the Underworld. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Well, I go between the Underworld, Olympus, and Camp Half-Blood, staying at each place for two weeks at a time.

I was currently in the Underworld with my mom, Persephone, step-dad, Hades, and two step-brothers, Ace Ashford and Nico Di Angelo. They're both demigods, but I'm not. I don't really know what I am, to be honest. By the way, if you don't already know, I my name is Calisto Fleur Fiammetta, but I really prefer Cali.

"Um, it's the first of September, why?" Nico answered. I grinned.

"I'm going to Olympus tomorrow," I explained quickly bouncing up and down a little. I'm really close to my dad, Apollo. Yep, Apollo and Persephone are my parents. Anyway, they stared at me as if I had three chests.

"No, actually you aren't going to Olympus tomorrow," my mom said as she walked in. She went to the fridge and took out the milk.

"What? Why not?" I politely demanded. She reached into the pantry and her arm came out holding cereal. What's with her and Grandma Demeter and cereal? I mean, seriously, it's ridicul—okay, off topic, stupid ADHD.

"Because you are going to meet someone," she vaguely replied.

"And who's this someone?" I asked at the same time as Ace. Let's just say my brothers are a _tad bit _protective over me. Nico laughed at this, but quickly stopped when I gave him a glare.

"Well, your father and I are arranging a marriage for you." She tried to make it sound formal, but didn't succeed.

"_WHAT_?!" Ace, Nico, and I screeched. She cowered the smallest amount, but it was still noticeable.

"Well, we need you to move on from your quests and such and start a family and assume your rightful duties as a young goddess," she told me. I gaped at her.

"But I only went on one quest, and I'm only 18!" It had been one year since the quest with Annabeth, Percy, and Evelyn. "I'm not ready to start a family! Or be a goddess for that matter!"

My mind raced to Leo, but I hadn't seen him in over a year and a half. After that kiss nothing else happened, so we weren't really a couple. I quickly shoved those thoughts away and went back to the problem at hand.

"No matter your age, you need to pick the province in which you'll rule with wisdom and grace. And soon," she added. I opened my mouth, trying to spit out the words lodged in my throat, but they weren't coming out any time soon. I managed to shout, "Fine!" as I ran to my room, slamming my door behind me.

I paced the floor, going to the door every now and then to make sure it was locked, and then pacing more. After about an hour of my ADHD going crazy, there was a knock on my door. I was grateful to have put in a peephole. I peered through it to find Ace and Nico nervously wringing their hands. I unlocked the door and let them in, instantly turning the lock again when they were inside.

"How are you doing?" Nico asked, trying to make a little conversation.

"Peachy. My mom just told me I'm not going to Olympus, but getting married instead. So just peachy," I snapped. I instantly regretted it when I saw hurt flash across his face. "I'm sorry, Nico. It's just…this is a lot to put on an eighteen year old girl, you know?" He nodded, thanking me with his eyes.

"So, do you have any idea who this guy could be?" Ace asked as he sat on my blue bed. I shook my head.

"No clue. It could be a random minor god for all I know," I said, throwing my hands in the air and sitting in my black chair I usually read in. Nico just sat on the floor in between us and to the right, making a triangle—our normal seating arrangement in my room.

"Or it could be a half-blood," Nico guessed. I thought about it.

"But why would they match me with a demigod when I'm immortal?" I thought aloud.

"Wait—you're immortal?" Ace looked from me, with a 'Duh!' expression on my face, to Nico, who was nodding.

"Think about it: my mother—goddess; my father—god. Two plus two equals immortal," I told him.

"Really? I thought it was four…" Nico trailed off, writing the math in the air with his finger. I rolled my eyes, standing up. I walked over to where he was sitting and hit him upside the head. "Hey!" Ace and I just laughed.

"Do you even want to be a goddess?" Ace asked me, getting serious again. I shook my head.

"No, I don't want to outlive all my friends, or siblings," I gestured to them. "Or a husband. I want to have a regular life, but I guess that's not happening. But now that I think about it, I don't want to worry about a husband yet. I want a cheesy boyfriend who cracks jokes in every situation, good or bad. Who will be there to kill the spiders," I shuddered. "and not question my goals or ideas. He needs to be approved by you two, of course, but also by me. Not arranged, but for love. He—"

Then I realized I was describing Leo. I shut up right away before I said something that would surely give it away. They stared at me.

"What? Can't I be sappy sometimes?" I challenged. They raised their arms in surrender. I laughed a little, but then one of the servants came and told us it was dinner time. Well, it told my brothers, but I couldn't understand it.

I made sure to bring my book with me so I could somewhat avoid my mom and step-dad. Apparently we had guests, so I had to hide The Red Pyramid well. The servants quickly dressed me in and light pink floral dress, but I chose no shoes with it. I slid my bracelet onto my wrist. My bracelet was orange, blue, and purple, with seven charms attached; a silver spear, knife, dagger, sword, bow, flower and sun. The first five turned into real weapons, but I still didn't know what the flower or sun did. I acquired the sun charm when I went to Olympus for the first time. I was told that I would find out what they did when it was time. Whatever. I slipped on my orange jeweled ring onto my left middle finger and stepped out of my room feeling presentable. Of course, after I pulled my long, boring, and straight brown hair into a ponytail.

What I did _not_ expect when I walked into the dining room was a god, demigod, and hellhound. Well, I sorta expected a hellhound, but you get the jest. I ignored the god and demigod and walked to the hellhound. All creatures automatically love me for some reason, but I've learned not to question it. I named the hellhound Midnight, since I knew she was girl, and she was dark as night. Looks like I've got a new pet.

Someone *cough* Hades *cough* cleared their throat and I turned around. The god was Hermes, and the demigod was Skylar Quick, as I had met him in the Hermes cabin. Skylar had warm brown eyes, like his father, but had specks of bright blue from his mother. His dirty blonde hair was in his eyes and he had to keep pushing it away. Across his nose, freckles sprinkled here and there. All in all, he was cute. But I didn't know him. Therefore, I couldn't marry him.

"Hermes," I curtsied, as I had been forced to practice. "Skyler." I nodded politely. He smiled in return. I pet Midnight behind her ear. "Mother, why am I needed here?" Mom pleaded me to be nice with her eyes, and I obliged like the amazing daughter I am.

"Well, as I told you earlier today, we have arranged your marriage. With Skylar," she told me. My jaw fell. Dad flashed in and moaned.

"I thought you said you would wait for me. I missed the best part," he whined. I glared at him. "Don't look at me. It was your mother's idea."

"Really? Blaming me?" Mom countered. Dad just shrugged and mumbled a 'yeah.' I could already see where this is going.

"Skylar, Hermes, follow me." I left Hades, Mom, and Dad in the dining room and led Skylar and Hermes to my room, Midnight following. "Well, that's a new record." I jotted down the amount of time it took for them to get in an argument.

"New record for what?" Hermes asked. I laughed to myself.

"Shortest time to get in an argument," I told them. "Tonight was only one minute and three seconds—impressive." They laughed. I put away my writing notebook before they could see any of my old—or new—stories.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked them, scratching Midnight under the chin. I went to my desk where I kept a hidden supply of hellhound treats. I pulled one out of the jar and fed it to Midnight. She ate it happily and I smiled.

"How about we get to know each other?" Skylar suggested. I nodded, agreeing. I could tell Hermes felt out of place.

"Hermes, could you please separate my parents? I have a feeling Hades is out cold right now thanks to my mom." He chuckled and nodded, clearly grateful for an out. "Oh, and grab Ace and Nico. I know they will kill Skylar if we're in here alone." He left, and Ace and Nico took his place. I jumped and glared at them. "How many times do I have to tell you not to shadow travel into my room? It freaks me out."

"About…ten more times," Nico said, lazily taking his normal seat. Ace did the same and sat on my bed.

"Anyway, let's play Truth or Dare," Ace said. I looked at him like, 'Really?'

"That is the most—" I started, but Nico cut me off.

"Awesome idea ever!"

"Well, I was going to say childish and stupid game invented, but that works too!" I remarked sarcastically. Unfortunately my younger brother didn't catch it and nodded enthusiastically. Ace was older than me by a year, but Nico was younger by two.

"Burst, truth or dare?" Ace called on me, using my nickname. I _loved_ nicknames, but only one person can call me by each. Except for Cali.

"Truth." I didn't want to start with a dare from the look in his coal eyes. He pouted.

"You're no fun. Fine. Why did you start petting that hellhound in the dining room earlier with no caution?"

"I've always had a way with animals, so they aren't scared of me. Right, Midnight?" I pet Midnight and she nuzzled into me. Yes, a huge hellhound nuzzled into me. Picture that. "Moving on…Nico, truth or dare?"

"Dare." I grinned. I had hoped he would say that.

"I dare you to hold a dandelion." His eyes widened.

"No. No, no, no, _no._ Not doing it. Next." I shook my head.

"You have to do it. It's a dare." He took a deep breath and nodded.

All of a sudden, something told me to touch my flower charm. I did, and I felt more powerful. I closed my eyes and pictured a dandelion, and Nico screamed. I opened my eyes, and a dandelion had sprouted next to Nico. My eyes widened, and I looked at my hands. On my index fingers, tattoos of green vines wrapped around. Then I realized that I had found one of my powers. My parents told me I had four powers. Now I know one of them.

**A/N: How was the first chapter? Good? Bad? Indescribably horrid? Tell me! Also, look out for the sequel to Annabeth's Struggle, Percy's Struggle. It'll be coming out tonight or tomorrow.**

**Random song of the chapter: 21 Guns by Green Day**

**Random question of the chapter:**** What do you think of this story?**

**~Cali**


	2. You Are My Sunshine

I Will Survive…Right?

**A/N: I think that I'll concentrate more on this story than the sequel because it'll be a nice change of plots for a while. Tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I own Skylar, Cali, and plot…nutin else…**

**Cali's POV:**

"How did you do that, Burst?" Ace asked me. I shrugged.

"I just touched my flower charm, and…that…happened," I told him, but mostly explaining to myself. Skylar looked between us before trusting his voice.

"What charm?" Oh. Right. He didn't know about my charm bracelet…

"Well," I thought about how to begin, and got an idea. "What is your weapon?"

"It's a sword, but turns into a hat, why?" He took off his fedora, turning it into a sword for emphasis. I held up my wrist.

"My charms turn into weapons, as well." I decided to use my dagger, Bloodroot, as an example. I held it between my fingers and pictured the Celestial bronze weapon in my right hand, and it appeared as it always did when I was training. I saw Skylar jump a little at the dagger engraved with red and white intricate designs, but Nico and Ace didn't move an inch.

"Whoa, how many weapons do you have?" I looked down and frowned; I realized I didn't know. Spear, dagger, knife, sword, bow, and sun. Apparently the flower disappeared after I touched it.

"Six," I counted. "A spear, a knife, a sword, a bow, a sun that I don't know about yet, and my dagger. Plus my new plant powers or whatever you want to call them."

"Cool," he said. I nodded, and then remembered something.

"Oh, Nico, you aren't getting away that easy. Hold the damn flower." He moaned and groaned, whined and pleaded. I just laughed at him. He carefully plucked it from the floor and held it for about five seconds before running and throwing it in the trash. Ace and I laughed our butts off, both of us ending on the floor. Nico glared at us while Skylar looked at us like we were crazy.

"Don't…judge…us," I gasped between laughs. He kept looking at us like we were Cerberus. Then he got up and left without another word. When I could breathe, I said, "What was that?"

"Maybe we scared him away. No arranged marriage!" he guessed.

I rolled my eyes. "Like that could happen."

"You never know," Nico said. I shrugged, not knowing what would happen. There was a knock at my door, and Nico and Ace quickly shadow travelled out. I rolled my eyes yet again and opened my door, revealing my dad. He came in and sat where Ace was less than a minute ago.

"So, Fleur, do you like Skylar?"

I could tell he meant as a friend. I shook my head. "Not really. He totally judged me when I made Nico hold a dandelion, and Ace and I burst out laughing." I started laughing again. He chuckled a little, knowing the story all too well. "Dad, why am I getting married? I'm only eighteen."

"We need you to grow up," he answered simply.

"But I'm not ready to grow up."

He smiled. "Fleur, if you weren't ready to grow up, I would know. I mean, I wasn't ready until I had lived over a century. But I know for a fact that you are ready to be the goddess you were meant to be." I sighed and nodded hesitantly. He pulled me into a hug and I returned it.

"But why does it have to be arranged?"

He pulled away and looked into my eyes. "Because…well, we wanted to make sure you got the best," he explained. _The best would be Leo,_ I thought, but quickly shook that away.

"Thanks Dad."

"Anytime, Sunshine." He kissed my forehead and I laughed a little.

"Hey, Dad, can you sing me to sleep?" It was, after all, eleven at night. He smiled and nodded. He was the god of music, you know.

"_You are my sunshine,_

_My only sunshine,_

_You make me happy,_

_When skies are grey,_

_You'll never know, dear,_

_How much I love you,_

_Please don't take my sunshine away._"

When he finished the song he had always sang to me as a lullaby, I was already asleep. I had a peaceful, dreamless sleep and awoke refreshed and calm. Until I saw that the desk drawer I kept my notebooks and important books in was broken into and open. Then I was furious.

"Nico!" I yelled. He shadow travelled into my room and I was too angry to be startled. "Why is my drawer open?" He looked at it and his eyes widened.

"Not me! I didn't do it this time, I swear on the River Styx!"

I took a deep breath. "Ace!" He did the same as Nico when I pointed to my desk.

"I didn't do it!" he immediately shouted. I sighed and rubbed my temples.

"Then tell me who _did!_" I yelled. If someone got their hands on my stuff, I was in big trouble. I may or may not have had doodles of my name with Leo's…Calleo…no biggie…and Calisto Valdez…oh no, I had to get my notebooks back. They flinched a little and I felt guilty. "Sorry, it's just…there's some really important and embarrassing stuff in those notebooks. I don't want the wrong person to see them."

_Leo._ I really needed to stop thinking about him.

_But you don't want to stop,_ a voice told me.

Aph, please, not now.

_Just admit that you love him and I'll go away, _she bribed.

Fine. I love him.

_Louder._

I love him!

_Louder!_

"I LOVE HIM!" I accidentally shouted aloud. Ace and Nico whipped their heads in my direction.

"Who's him?" Ace demanded. Stupid protective older brothers…

"Um…uh, well you see, it's…" I stuttered intelligently. "Aph made me say that aloud to see your reaction." They nodded, dropping it for now. We walked out of my room and to the kitchen. Mom was in there helping the tulip on the windowsill grow. I went to the pantry and took out a Hershey's caramel kiss, putting it to my mouth.

"Ah-ah-ah," Mom tsked. "Dinner's in ten minutes."

My shoulders slumped. "Just one?"

"No, we're having spaghetti," she added. I quickly put the chocolate down. I loved Mom's pasta—any kind at all, and it was fantastic. "Thought so."

I laughed. "Mom, have you seen, oh I don't know, two notebooks with pictures of the most adorable puppies ever?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Not that I know of." I groaned and nodded glumly. "You can go do anything you want until dinnertime. You still have eight minutes." I left the kitchen and went back to my room.

I fell back on my bed with my brown hair fanning around my head, and started thinking about suspects.

If it's not Ace or Nico, then who could be? Mom? No. Hades? Gods no. Dad? No motive. Skylar? He is a son of Hermes…and saw me put them in that exact drawer…and looked curious…oh no. It was Skylar. Damn it.

I sat up and sighed. "Nico!"

He 'shadowed' in, as I called it, and sat down. "Yeah, Cal?"

"I know who took my notebooks." He looked at me expectantly. I flinched, thinking about his reaction. Before I could say anything, Ace shadowed in.

"Dude, why'd you leave? We were at the best part!" Then he noticed my grimace. And that's not good; Ace could read me like an open book, which is hard to do since I hide my emotions. "Who was it?"

I sighed for the millionth time that day. "Skylar," I mumbled, not meeting their eyes and hoping they couldn't understand what I said.

"WHAT?!" They heard. I cowered a bit.

"It was Skylar. I mean, all signs lead to him—he saw me put my notebook in that drawer, and he looked curious to me. And to top it off, he's a son of Hermes," I explained. They nodded, calming down.

"So, how do we get them back?" Nico spoke up. I shrugged.

"We confront him," Ace suggested.

I rolled my eyes. "We can't confront him. It's rude."

"I don't care if it's rude. He stole your _personal_ belonging and won't get away with it."

"You can. I'm out on this one. I'll let my over-protective brothers do that part." I smirked. They grinned, knowing exactly how over-protective they were.

They started planning and I tuned them out. Of course my ADHD brain went from my notebooks to my new power to plants to Leo. And stopped on Leo.

I thought about his soft, curly brown hair, and those warm chocolate brown eyes with little dark red specks like embers from a burning flame. I thought about his slightly pointed ears and elfish features. I laughed silently when I thought about the time he went to school with 'Hot Stuff' and 'McShizzle' written on his arms in pen, just to get my attention. Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I hadn't gone on the quest and left Leo. Would we have gone steady? Nowadays we act like it never happened and we're still best friends. Speaking of which, I hadn't talked to him since I was last at Camp Half-Blood—a month.

I stood up and excused myself, but they were too engrossed in planning to notice. I entered the bathroom and turned on the shower, the sink mirror reflecting the light perfectly, creating a rainbow. I grabbed the drachma from my pocket and tossed it into the tub. "Oh, Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Leo Valdez, Camp Half-Blood." The rainbow shimmered and Leo appeared, working on a project in his cabin. "Leo!" He jumped and hit a metal bar of his head. "Sorry." I smiled sheepishly and rubbed my left arm with my hand.

"Fia! You scared me. How have you been, chica?"

I grinned. Still the same Leo. "I've been hanging on, but barely. I've got some news. You may want to sit down for this." His usually carefree expression turned uneasy at this. "Well, how do I say this? Oh screw it. Leo, my parents have arranged me a marriage." He went from uneasy to shocked.

I smiled weakly. "Surprise?"

"Uh, Cali, I gotta go. See you later." With that, he swiped through the message and disconnected from me. My jaw fell a little and I didn't know what to think. So I didn't think; I cried.

Ace found me there, sitting in front of the shower, sobbing. He instantly knew what happened and picked me up bridal style, carrying me to my bed. He lay me down and sat down next to me.

"Cali, what did he say?" Ace asked softly.

I wiped my tears away and took a shaky breath. "He didn't really _say _anything. He told me had to go and swiped through the message as quick as he could. Not really the response I was expecting." I laughed at myself. Ace knew I liked—no, loved—Leo. "But to be honest, I was sorta expecting, 'No, Cali, I love you. I'll marry you.'" I laughed dryly again. "As if."

Ace wiped away a tear that escaped and made me look in his dark eyes. "Don't put yourself down like that. He'll come around, just give him time. He's still oblivious—even _after_ that kiss last year." I nodded numbly. "Now, let's have some pudding and make fun of stupid chick-flicks. Okay?" I smiled. He always knew what to say. I went to the bathroom and washed my face. When I came out I changed into red checkered flannel pajama bottoms and a dark purple Guess short-sleeved t-shirt.

I brushed my hair into a high bun and put in my contacts. When I opened my door, Hades was standing there. I jumped a little and let out a small squeal.

"Oh, Hades. You startled me. What can I do for you?"

He studied me. "Calisto, you don't want to get married to the young son of Hermes, do you?"

The question caught me off guard, but I knew the answer. "No, my heart sort of belongs to someone else." I looked down thinking about Leo again. But what I forgot was that Hades could read minds.

"Ah, the young Hephaestus boy. Yes, he is quite suitable. Maybe if you can convince me, I could talk to Persephone about it."

My eyes widened. "You would do that?" He nodded. "Well, how do I convince you?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Why do you love him?"

Oh, that's easy. "He's carefree, but still has a serious side. He always knows how to lighten a dark mood. When I need him, he's there. He's funny, and can always crack a joke. No matter how cheesy it is, he makes it hilarious. His elfish features make him unique, and I love that. His eyes make you feel like you're next to a warm fire, and his smile can light a thousand cities. He—" Hades put up a hand to stop my rambling.

"Maybe I can talk to my wife to change her mind, but I make no promises." Then I did something that shocked both of us: I hugged him.

"Thank you so, so much, Hades. You won't regret it." A ghost of a smile played along his lips before he hugged me back.

"Anything for my step-daughter." I pulled away and grinned. We exchanged good-byes and I went to watch the stupid chick-flicks with Ace.

*Line Break*

The next morning, Ace and Nico were out 'running an errand.' Yeah, right. More like running to Skylar and confronting him. Their idea of confronting was to have Ace hold him off the ground by his collar until he told them where my notebooks were.

Apparently their idiotic plan worked because they came back with my notebooks in tow. I grabbed them and looked through each one, trying to find changes or something. And I found something. In the last page was a note.

_Cali,_

_Now that I know your deepest secret, I can use blackmail. If you don't marry me, I will send everyone in Camp Half-Blood copies of these notebooks. If you do, I will burn each and every copy. Your choice._

_Yours truly,_

_Skylar_

Damn it.

**A/N: What's Cali going to do? What do **_**you**_** think she should do? Tell me in a review! Ask me random questions about myself! Next update will be on the 26****th****, okay? Thanks! **

**Random Song of the Chapter: It's Time by Imagine Dragons**

**~Cali**


	3. Where Are They!

I Will Survive…Right?

**A/N: Happy March 26****th****! Here's chapter 3! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Me: Skylar, say the disclaimer.**

**Skylar: Never.**

**Me: Say it!**

**Skylar: No!**

**Me: I **_**will**_** get Ace and Nico.**

**Skylar: Fine! Fine. *mumbles* Cali only owns me and Calisto. And the plot. Nutin else.**

**Me: *smug* Thank you.**

**Cali's POV:**

Damn, damn, DAMN! Why was this happening? I mean, really; everything went wrong. I didn't get it. I reread the note and saw the same letters floating off the page, but could read it all the same.

My mind drifted to Leo and how he responded to my news. And to make it better, I was going Camp Half-Blood at noon that very day. Great.

My mom called for me. _Another family meeting, _I thought, and I walked out of my room, forgetting to put down the note. I walked into the living room and sit on the couch.

"Cal, what's the note for?" Ace asked, trying to see it. I noticed my mistake and stuffed it in my jeans pocket.

"Oh, nothing important," I lied. Unfortunately, Dad is the god of truth, so I suck at lying. Ace wasn't buying it. He looked at Nico and nodded. In a blur, Nico had my arms pinned behind me and Ace grabbed the note from my pocket. He read it, reread it, and re-reread it. Nico saw this and snatched it before Ace could read it a fourth time. He read it twice, and then glanced at me, then to Ace.

"'Nothing important'?" Ace repeated. Hades tore his eyes away from his newspaper and placed them on the note.

"What does it say?" he asked, genuinely caring. Nico stood and gave his father the letter. All the while, I had my head in my hands, singing Dad's lullaby in my head to calm myself. I sang it five times before Hades exploded. "WHAT?! How dare he? Does he know whose child he's dealing with?" I took a shaky breath before moving my gaze back to them.

That was when Mom joined us. Apparently, she had been in the bathroom, so she had no clue what was happening.

"What are you shouting about?" she stared pointedly at Hades. He shoved the note at her, obviously too upset to talk. Hades had always treated me as if I were his own daughter, which I had always been grateful for. "What is this?"

"I…found it in one of my notebooks. I don't know what to do." I sighed, putting my head in my hands once again.

"I'll tell you what _I'll_ do. I'm gonna beat him to a pulp **(NeverForgiveOrForget161616…haha!) **and fry him to make dam French fries for a dam snack bar. **(Titan's Curse…"I do not understand"-Zoe Nightshade.)** Then I'll—" Ace started to continue, but I cut him short.

"Ace, I know you've fantasized for the past two days about hurting Skylar, but right now we need to plan it out—the _real_ plan," I interrupted. He glared at the ground, probably finishing the idiotic idea in his head. "What I'm going to do is…is marry him." Ace jerked his head back to me and I shrunk under his gaze.

"You are _not_ going to marry that…that…_being._" I laughed in spite of myself.

"You guys have _no_ idea what's in those notebooks. And he wants to give the campers at CHB copies. What choice do I have?" I looked at each of them expectantly. No one said anything. "That's what I thought." I moved my gaze to my lap. "I'm going to CHB tomorrow to tell everyone the news."

"And the truth, right?" Nico asked. I shook my head, not moving my stare.

"I can't. I don't want to risk it. He's there, too, remember?" I reminded them. By that time, Hades had left to cool down, and Mom had gone to the bathroom for some reason. So by them I mean Nico and Ace. And 'them' were going nuts. "Calm down. I'm not going to let you beat up my fiancée." I was trying to lighten up the mood. Unfortunately, it wasn't working.

Great; I had an angry sixteen year old, and a beyond furious nineteen year old. Now what do I do? I slap them. "You two need to get over your own emotions and think rationally!" They rubbed their now red cheeks and nodded.

"What's in those notebooks anyway?" Nico asked after getting wet cloths for their cheeks. My breath hitched; they can't know.

"Oh, nothing important."

"Cal, the last time you said that, we found a blackmail note," Ace pointed out.

"Stupid brothers," I grumbled, grabbing my notebooks. I held them out for Ace. He grabbed hold, but I didn't let go. It took them both to pry my fingers off of the papers. I folded my arms and crashed onto the couch next to them.

Two minutes later, they were on the floor. At first it was from laughing, but then it was from me growing vines and holding them there. I looked down at them and glared.

"You know, laughing at someone's thoughts is rude."

"Wrapping vines around someone is rude, too," Nico mumbled.

"I heard that!" I snapped. "Now, if I let you go, you can't laugh. Got it?" They nodded and I released them. "See why I don't want these getting out?" They nodded and I snatched my notebooks back.

"You've had a crush on Leo for this long?" Ace asked. I smiled innocently. He muttered under his breath, "Great."

I rolled my eyes. "Do you guys want to come with me to CHB tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I want to make sure Skylar doesn't try anything." Nico's tone was dangerously serious. I gulped a little and smiled nervously.

"I'm heading to bed."

Ace left and Nico looked at me. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Well, I don't really have a choice. If Leo got his hands on these notebooks…I don't even know what I'd do. Probably go in a hole and die." Nico laughed lightly.

"I guess, but I don't even want to know what he plans to do in the marriage."

"_I _don't want to know what he plans for the wedding night…" I trailed off and shuddered. Nico noticed and hugged me.

"It'll be alright, Flower Girl. We'll be here every step of the way." If only we knew how wrong he was. Or who was listening and what he plans.

**Unknown POV:**

"Hey boss, her younger brother promised to be with her the whole way," I informed him through the ear-piece.

_Excellent,_ he said. _Now we know the next part of the plan._

**Cali's POV:**

**Two Days Later:**

I woke up in the Apollo cabin at five o'clock in the morning—my usual time at Camp Half-Blood. I liked to wake up earlier than my half-siblings, and they got up at six. So I got an hour to myself. Nico usually stayed up until six, so he should've been awake still.

I dressed in my faded orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt with denim shorts and dark blue flip-flops. I left the cabin after ten minutes and walked out into the chilly morning air. The soft breeze picked up my brown hair, making me realize I hadn't put it up yet. I left it down and walked to the Hades cabin.

I knocked six times, because then he would know it was me. But no one answered. I knocked again, but still the door remained closed. I looked under the _'You're Not Welcome'_ mat and found the spare key. I unlocked the door and put the key back in its place. I walked in and smelled dust—Nico and Ace seriously needed to clean their cabin.

I went straight to Nico's room. No one. Ace's room—same fate.

"Nico?" I called. "Ace?"

When there was no response, I started to panic.

_Alright, Cal. You're probably just overreacting. I mean, come on. It's Nico and Ace we're talking about. Just relax._

I took a deep breath and exited the cabin. I ran to the one spot they could be—the mess hall. I swear, those boys eat whatever they could, no matter what time it was.

I entered the dining hall and was overwhelmed by the different food scents wafting around the room. I glanced around the empty tables until my eyes rested on the Hades table. Correction—the _empty_ Hades table.

That was when the panic returned. I checked my watch, and I had been looking for only fifteen minutes, since it was 5:25. I stood there for five minutes just staring at the big hand making its way to the half-way mark. Then my feet carried me to the only place they could think of.

I arrived at the Hephaestus cabin in record time—slowest time, that is. I knocked on the cabin door softly and felt a fearful tear slide down my cheek. I hastily wiped it away as the door opened, revealing a half-asleep Leo.

"Cal? What are you doing here?" Leo asked, still dazed. I explained my situation as he woke up. I didn't know what to do, so I took a seat on the first, and only, step of the cabin porch. He sat next to me, putting a comforting arm around me. "Don't worry, alright? We'll find 'em. Besides, you've got Annabeth, Percy Piper, and all of 'em to help you the whole way. Plus, you've got the super-sized McShizzle on your side." He grinned, making me laugh. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed. I knew this was a friendly gesture, but I wanted it to be more.

"I guess I should let you sleep, huh?" I tilted my head up, but my face was inches away from his. I looked back down to hide my blush. He laughed, acting as though that didn't happen.

"Well, I'm up now. Do you wanna take a walk?" I nodded and stood. After I helped him up, we started to walk in the forest. I know, 'it's dangerous' and stuff, but we weren't going alone—we had each other. I learned the day before that Leo had a rare fire power that no Hephaestus child had had in hundreds of years. Awesome, right? And then I had my charms and plant thingy. So I think we were good.

Anyway, we were walking in a comfortable silence. Leo had fire embers dancing along his fingers, and I was trying not to grow plants around us. I hadn't told anyone yet, so only Skylar, Nico, and Ace knew. It was really hard with Leo playing with his gift, and I couldn't, so I caved and decided to tell him.

"Hey Leo?" I interrupted his thoughts, and was given his attention. I took a deep breath. "So, I found out a couple days ago that I could do something."

"Like what?" he asked, genuinely curious. I decided to show him instead of telling him, not trusting my voice. I grew a poppy next to his left foot. He yelped and jumped a little, but then knelt down and admired its beauty. Leo looked back up at me and smiled. "Do you know if you can do anything else like that?"

"Well, I can grow vines to trap someone, but I don't know of anything else. Yet." He gulped at my 'yet,' but chuckled a little. "I'm still kinda scared to find out what my other three powers ar—" I clasped a hand over my mouth. I hadn't told anyone about my four gifts.

"Wait, what other three powers?" he asked, standing up. I gave in and told him.

"Um, last year my dad told me that I had four powers, but I would know when the time was right. I only know one of them right now." I sprouted a tulip to emphasize my point. He nodded slowly.

"Do you have any ideas?" I thought about it.

"No clue." We laughed lightly and continued, him playing with fire again, and I sprouting random flowers around us. I felt a presence, but when I looked around, saw no one. We passed a dying tree, and I touched its trunk, bringing it to life again.

"Nice," Leo complimented, looking impressed. I smiled at the tree.

We kept walking until we stopped at a large oak tree. I grinned and looked to Leo, knowing we were thinking the same thing—climb. Much to my surprise, a branch shifted and picked me and Leo up, settling us on a middle branch.

"That was awesome," I voiced. He nodded. I changed positions so that I was facing Leo and leaning on the trunk of the giant oak.

"So did you miss me?" I teased. Amazingly, he nodded.

"Of course, Fia. You know I can't spend too long away from you." I searched, but found no sign of joking. I smiled.

"I missed you, too, Val." I nudged him with my foot. "Hey, race you to the dining pavilion. Loser has to do the winner's chores for a week." He grinned. I willed the tree to put me on the ground, and I heard Leo groan.

"No fair!" I sighed and asked the tree to let him down, too. It helped him down while I ran to the pavilion. I got there first, gasping for air. Leo arrived a few seconds later, doing the same as me.

"You…cheated." I laughed—well, as much as you can when you're out of breath.

"There was nothing in the rules about not using your powers, right?" I pointed out. He scowled, knowing that I was right. I smirked. "Let's eat."

He grabbed his mound of food while I poured a glass of milk, and grabbed a big piece of coffee cake. I sat down at the Apollo table next to my older half-brother, Will.

I quietly ate my food, thinking intently about where Ace and Nico could be. Apparently, I thought a little too hard because a buttercup sprouted next to my plate, startling my half-siblings. I tried to act startled, but they weren't buying it. I smiled sheepishly and plucked the small flower from the table crack.

"Buttercup, anyone?" I held up the bud, smiling sheepishly, but everyone stared at it like it would explode. I shrugged and placed it in my bun. I guess they thought Mom grew it for me. I finished the last bite of my coffee cake and gave my offering.

"Morning, Dad, Mom. Hope you help me find Nico and Ace. You too, Hades, some sort of help would be nice," I muttered. I scraped a nice blueberry muffin into the fire and walked out of the pavilion.

I went to the archery range, the only place I could truly think. I touched my bow charm and held Camellia in my hand. **(I realized that I hadn't mentioned the name of her bow in the chapter introducing her weapons…oops.) **

I stood in front of a target and aimed. I mindlessly shot, hitting the bulls-eye almost every time.

_Leo said that everyone would have my back, but what if the person who took Nico and Ace has a spy here, acting like a regular camper? I mean, they're not dumb, for sure. If they took sons of Hades, they must have them somewhere they can't shadow-travel. But where…they can shadow-travel everywhere, right? I don't know. Ugh. This'll be harder than I thought. Maybe I should see who's willing to help me, and go from there._

I put my bow away and started to search for my friends. I found them in Percy's cabin since everyone can fit in there, plus a guest: Arian Jamison. Arian is one of the oldest sons of Nike. He was kind, but had a temper. He had reddish-brown hair with light orange eyes. We were starting to be great friends, and he knew how my emotions went—crazy. Stupid hormones are making them worse.

There was a series of "Hey," and "'Sup" and "How you doin'?" The last one was from Connor, and I just laughed at him. Then I saw Leo give me a look that obviously said, 'Tell them.' I sighed and started to explain.

"So, sorry to dampen the mood, but I've got some news," I started.

"Don't ruin the happiness, Cal," Natalie whined. I glared, telling them it was a serious issue.

"Two people are missing." I didn't want to say their names just to reopen a slowly closing wound.

Then, of course, Silena asked the question I didn't want to answer. "Who?"

I looked pleadingly at Leo, begging him to say it. Thankfully, he complied. "Nico and Ace can't be found anywhere."

I looked down when I tears stung my eyes. I wouldn't cry. I _couldn't _cry. I had to stay strong. A single, white rose sprouted, but I knew I didn't make it grow.

_I did, sweetheart._

I smiled. 'Thanks, Mom. That was what I needed.'

Meanwhile, all my friends were staring at me. I looked back up, still smiling from the flower, but it evaporated when I saw their faces.

"What is it?" I asked, but felt stupid when I remembered what we were talking about.

"Your half-brothers are missing and you're smiling?" Arian asked incredulously. I shook my head, frowning a little.

"My mother grew a flower to cheer me up, and it helped. I'm not _glad_ that they're gone. Why would you even think that I would?" That seriously offended me. How could that go through his mind?

"Oh, I don't know. You've just been really distant, which is totally unlike you, so why wouldn't we think something's up!" he said, raising his voice.

"Well, nothing's up!" My voice rose as well. Shock flickered in his orange eyes, but left as quick as it came, being replaced with anger.

"I'm not so sure if I believe you!" That crossed me over the edge.

"Fine! I'm being forced to marry someone I don't like! Alright? Is that okay with you?" I screamed. I ran to the hill as fast as I could.

**Leo's POV:**

After Cali ran out, I glared at Arian. "Really? You had to instigate her? She didn't want to talk about it. You know Cal; she'll tell you things when she's ready. She _obviously_ wasn't ready!"

"How was I supposed to know?" he asked, still in shock of what she said. I looked at everyone else; they were staring at me like I was crazy.

"You knew?" Piper finally asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, she told me through Iris-message. I, uh, didn't really take it too well, so she wanted to be able to tell you guys in a good way."

"How did you take it?" Annabeth asked. I flinched involuntarily.

"Uh, I kinda said I had to go and ended the message," I said, looking down.

"Really, Leo?" Beck looked at me, shaking his head.

"Well, think about it. Travis, how would you react if Katie told you she was getting married?" Piper crossed her arms expectantly and waited. Travis flushed.

"Uh, I'd, um, probably do the same thing," he stuttered. Katie blushed.

"My point exactly." Piper sat back, satisfied. I sighed and got up.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." I left before anyone could object. I knew exactly where she'd be.

**Cali's POV:**

I stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill and gazed out at the horizon, thinking about the fight with Jason and my friends' surprised faces. But most of all, how I heard Leo come to my defense after I left. I thought about how I had to marry Skylar, and what I'll do about Leo. I know Hades told me he'd talk to Mom about me marrying Leo, but now that can't happen. Stupid blackmail. Now what?

I heard footsteps approaching, and I touched my dagger charm. I spun around, holding out Bloodroot. Leo was staring cross-eyed at the dagger against his throat with his hands in a surrender position. I sighed and put Bloodroot away.

"Hey," I said, turning back to the view and sitting down. I felt his eyes burning a hole in the side of my face.

"Hey, Fia, you know Arian didn't mean it," he told me. "He just…didn't know what was going on, you know? He was worried about you."

"I didn't ask him to worry about me," I snapped. Then I realized it was Leo. "Sorry, it's just that I have a lot of pressure right now."

"Fia, do you want to talk about it?"

A tear pricked the corner of my eye. I couldn't tell him. No matter how much I wanted to. I managed to shake my head, taking an interest in the hem of my faded t-shirt.

"Please, Cali, I want to know what's going on," Leo begged me. I took a shaky breath and nodded. I had to tell him.

"I have—" I was cut off by the devil himself walking over to us.

"Hey, Fia." Skylar strode in front of me, blocking the warmth of the sun and replacing it with icy bitterness. I shivered, goose bumps spreading over my bare arms.

"Only Leo can call me Fia," I snapped coldly. He simply smirked.

"For now," he stated. "Anyway, your father is visiting and asked for me to get you." I studied him suspiciously. Unfortunately, his dad is the god of deceit, so he can lie easily.

"Only if Leo comes." My eyes plead silently and he noticed. He stood up. Skylar held out a hand to help me up, but I took Leo's. He pulled me up without a second thought and we started down the hill. I saw the twinkle in his eyes and said, "Race you."

He laughed and got out, "You're on," before running down the hill. I laughed and sprinted.

I don't know what Skylar thought, but I didn't care. I was with the guy I wanted to be with.

We ran to the Big House, and touched the porch post at the same time.

"Damn, tie," Leo muttered.

I laughed. I walked up the steps and opened the door. I was met by Dad, Mom, and Hades. Then I saw Hermes. And then I saw Skylar walking over to stand next to his father smirking. I looked at my Dad, who had a grimace but was trying for a smile.

"Dad, what's going on?" I looked at Skylar, and then back to my dad.

"Um, well, the wedding date's been set," he explained. My eyes widened.

"Uh, um, w-when is i-it?" I stuttered.

"In three days," Skylar answered for him. If possible, my eyes widened even more.

Not knowing what to do, I murmured a small "Oh," and ran out the door to the Apollo cabin. Fortunately, everyone was doing their activities, so I locked the door and lay face down on my bed, letting the tears flow freely. The clock said 5:27.

After what felt like hours, I heard a knock on the door. I checked the clock; 5:34. Only seven minutes had passed. This would be a very long day.

The person at the door knocked again and I grumbled as I got up. The newly unlocked door was swung open, and I scowled at the knocker—Skylar.

"What do you want?" He just smirked and walked in like he owned the place. "Oh, just make yourself at home, _dear._" I was fed up with the marriage that would commence in three days.

"Oh, why thank you, darling," he replied. I rolled my eyes and slammed the door. "Now, that's no way to greet your fiancée." I swallowed down the bile rising to my throat.

"How do I greet my fiancée, oh wise one?" My voice dripped with sarcasm and hatred.

"It's simple, really. A kiss." He said it as if he were talking about one of the camp activities. The bile started to rise again, but I swallowed it down again.

"Why, of course, Sky," I said, holding out my hand. "But don't you want to wait and make it special for our, um, wedding." That was harder to say than I thought it would be.

"Oh, you're right—" He started to say something else, but I didn't let him. 

"Like always. Now, I'm feeling tired, so I'll go to bed right now. See you tomorrow." I pushed him out the door, locked it, and leaned my back against it.

Why did the Fates hate me so much? Or maybe it was just Aph…yeah, probably Aph messing with my love life. Damn it.

Then, there was yet another knock on the door, which felt weird against my back. I groaned, unlocking the door. I opened it, revealing…

**A/N: Ah, cliffhangers. How I love them so. Anyway, what did you think? Who's at the door? I don't know…Also, please send me art for the cover of either this story or Percy's Struggle. Please? Next update will be the third of April. Talk to you then! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! **

**Random Song of the Chapter: Burn It Down by Linkin Park**

**~Cali**


	4. Wait What?

I Will Survive…Right?

**A/N: I'm really sorry that I wasn't able to update yesterday, but when I scheduled yesterday's date I forgot that my last Drama performance for the year was last night. Ready to see who's at the door? I love cliffhangers…ah. Anyway, here's chapter 4!**

**Disclaimer: Who am I again? *water_and_art_girl whispers in my ear.* Oh, right, not Rick Riordan. Read water_and_art_girl's stories on Wattpad. You won't regret it! I also don't own the books mentioned.**

_Previously: Then, there was yet another knock on the door, which felt weird against my back. I groaned, unlocking the door. I opened it, revealing…_

**Cali's POV:**

Katie Gardner, my best friend/aunt. I know, really weird, but you get used to it.

"Hey," she said. "Can I come in?"

I opened the door wider, allowing her access to the cabin. I probably looked horrible; I had cried for about ten minutes straight, and never washed the puffiness out of my eyes, and had a red face from the…visit from Skylar.

I shut the door and turned to greet my "guest," even though whenever I was at CHB Katie was in the cabin almost every day. So she wasn't technically a guest anymore.

"What happened, Calillil?" She decided to call me Calillil the first day she met me; it kind of stuck, I guess. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before reliving the story all over again. "I'm so sorry, Cal. I don't know how to fix this. I hate this—feeling so helpless."

"You're telling me," I mumbled. "What would you do?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, I'd run away. But you can't always run from your problems."

"But it would get me out of the wedding," I countered.

"Maybe, but for how long?" she pointed out.

"However long I'm gone. I can go by a different name. You can come with me. Please," I begged.

I needed someone else with me to make it outside of Olympus, the Underworld, or Camp Half-Blood. In fact, I hadn't been in the mortal world in over a year…

"Fine, but only because you're my best friend," she caved. I grinned and tackled her in a hug.

For the third time that night, there was a knock at the door. I groaned dramatically and picked myself off of the floor where I had jumped on Katie. I exaggeratedly dragged my feet to the door with Katie laughing at me the entire time.

When I got to the door, I smoothed out my clothes and acted normal, or as normal as you can be when you're me. I swung the door open yet again to see Leo.

"Oh hey, Val," I greeted, smiling sweetly. "Come on in."

He entered gratefully, as it was really cold out that night. "Hi, Katie."

"'Ello, Leo," she said, talking in a fake British accent. We laughed a little.

"So, Fia, are you okay?" He looked at me with his soft brown eyes filled to the brim with concern.

"Yeah, Val. I'm fine," I reassured him. His expression was skeptical, but he fortunately dropped the subject.

"What were you guys talking about?" Katie and I exchanged glances.

"Um…well, I have decided to run away," I told him, looking everywhere but Leo. I waited for him to blow. When he didn't, I glanced at him. He was strangely calm.

"I'm coming with you."

"Wait, what?" I did _not_ see that coming.

"I'm coming with you," he repeated. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but the words didn't come.

"Great! It'll be like a quest!" Katie exclaimed, letting her girly side show for once. She'd never been on a quest, so she was happy to say the least.

"But Leo, what about Jason and Piper? And Percy, and Annabeth, and…" I rambled, but Leo stopped me.

"They'll understand," was all he said.

Katie thought for a moment, twirling a lock of her dark brown hair, identical to mine, around her left index finger—the habit both of us had. "I should tell Travis."

"But what if he tries to stop us?" I asked.

"Like Leo said, he'll understand."

"Help me pack?" She nodded and I pulled out my backpack that I usually used for school—well, before I stopped going to school.

"Okay, well, I'll go pack too, I guess." With that, Leo left the Apollo cabin quietly.

"How long will we be gone?" I asked.

"Probably a few months," she told me. Boy was she wrong.

"Then what will we need?"

"I'll go down a list." I nodded, confirming. "All of your clothes." T-shirts, jeans, shorts, a few skirts, a few dresses, and a bunch of converse. Check. "Toiletries." Toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, hair ties, soaps, shampoos, girl things. Check. "Blankets." Three to be exact. Check. "Personal items." I took out a photo of me with Ryan, my brother, a photo of me with my real parents, Apollo and Persephone, and a photo of me with my adoptive parents. I grabbed the Batman cape Ryan gave me the day before he…anyway, I grabbed my purse with my money in it. I also remembered my notebooks and a picture of my entire group the day we had a huge party for no reason. Ryan was there, too…I put all of the items listed in my backpack. I quickly snatched a few of my favorite books—the entire Divergent series, the Peter Johnson series, and others—and put them into my orange-jeweled ring on that changed into a messenger bag. Check. I then remembered my cell phone I had received from Aphrodite on my quest with Percy, Annabeth, and Evelyn and put it in my back pocket. I quickly grabbed some ambrosia, nectar, and drachma just in case.

"Alright, are you ready to pack?" I asked Katie. She nodded. We walked out and to the Demeter cabin. When I walked inside, I was instantly overwhelmed by the plants. They all practically trapped me, but I ordered them to let me go. They obeyed, but still surrounded me.

Katie packed while I sort of just watched and played with the plants, careful not to grow any.

"So, Katie, can we look for Nico and Ace?" I kept my eyes on the leaves of the rose I was stroking gently.

"Of course, Cali," she replied as she zipped up her suitcase. She pushed a lock of fallen hair behind her ear. "Ready?"

I grinned and nodded. We went and got Leo, and walked to the Hermes cabin. Katie knocked on the door, and Travis answered. He smiled, but when he saw us it quickly vanished.

"What happened?"

Katie pulled him aside and talked to him for a minute before he started saying, "I'm coming, too. I don't care, I'm coming." She tried to convince him to stay, but it was no use. When she realized this, her shoulders slumped and she grumbled an angry, "Fine," and told him to start packing. Apparently we were leaving at eleven that night.

I slipped my phone out of my back pocket and looked at the time; 9:14. Alright, so we had an hour and forty-five minutes of doing nothing. Great. I know, I'm just full of enthusiasm, right? No? Okay.

Travis went back into his cabin to pack, leaving us to wait in the Hades cabin, because our cabins would be too suspicious thanks to our siblings.

I grabbed my phone yet again and started playing a game. Oh, did I forget to mention that it was an iPhone? Whoops, silly me!

Anyway, we waited for Travis, and Katie still wasn't happy that he was going with us. But Travis wouldn't take no for an answer.

When he finally got to the cabin, it was 10:02. We still had an hour, so I took out one of my books, Maximum Ride, and started to read the first volume. I was about to open the fifth volume when Leo told me it was time to go. I sighed, putting my books in my messenger bag, and prepared myself for the dangers I would face. I guess Katie knew I was thinking, so she put a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Cali. You've got us with you." I smiled gratefully at her kind words. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and turned my messenger bag into the ring, sliding it onto my right middle finger.

"Okay, let's head out," I said, leading Leo, Katie, and Travis out of the cabin. We stepped carefully and quietly to make sure the harpies didn't catch us. We kept going to the edge of camp when I turned around, staring my past in the eye. I nodded, a little out of respect, but mostly as a goodbye.

I continued on and into my future.

**A/N: I was going to stop here, but I don't want to, and I'm nice, so I'll keep going. (:**

**Three Days Later:**

I looked at the time on my phone; 6:07. I had woken up early thanks to my phone's alarm, and had made sure put my ear buds in so only I would wake up.

We were staying in a hotel, but we agreed that the most time spent at each one was three days. This was our first hotel, and we were on our last day there already.

I got up, took a long, hot shower, and dressed in a plain light blue t-shirt and shorts. I slipped on a pair of old, faded black converse and put on my bracelet and ring. I brushed my hair into a ponytail and washed my face to wake me up even more. By the time I was done it was 7:14. No one else had woken up yet, so I grabbed Maximum Ride Vol. 5 and started reading.

Katie woke up around 7:30 and took a shower. Leo stirred about fifteen minutes later and took his shower after Katie. Travis didn't wake until 8:30. When everyone else was ready, it was 8:55. Thank the gods Travis got ready fast.

We checked out of the hotel and Katie and Travis started to argue about where to go.

"Guys," I said, tired from lack of sleep the past nights. "GUYS!"

They immediately stopped and looked at me. I take a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I just haven't gotten a lot of sleep and I _really_ don't need you two bickering when I know the answer."

"You do?" Travis asked. I nodded and told them the directions.

"Are you sure we should go there?" Leo asked me. I nodded hesitantly. "Alright, let's go then."

We then started for our destination.

***Line Break***

We arrived at my old house in an hour. I walked up the all too familiar steps of the porch and took a deep breath before raising my hand to knock. I hesitated, moved my gaze down, and lowered my closed hand. I stared at the road behind me, remembering the day…it happened.

_*Flashback*_

_I was walking home from school with Ryan. I was in fifth grade, he in third. We were walking in step with each other, and he was walking his bike since he rode it that day. I was teasing him, like an older sister should._

"_So, Ryan. Who was that girl you were talking to before I came to get you?" I asked, acting innocent. He rolled his eyes, but responded all the same._

"_Sophie, but she's only a friend." I bumped him with my side and laughed. He fake-glared at me, but laughed in spite of himself. He bumped me back and I laughed even more. _

"_Only a friend? Are you sure? I mean, you blushed a lot, and so did she. If I didn't know you, I'd say that Ryan Fiammetta had a crush." I started laughing again._

"_I do not!" he denied. I just shook my head._

"_You know, Ryan, Denial isn't only a river in Egypt." He started laughing again and I grinned. _

_We were across the street from our house by that time, so we looked both ways before crossing. When we were in the middle of the road, I heard the loud engine of a car. I looked to my left; nothing. Ryan was to my right. I looked past him and saw a car speeding toward us. _

"_Ryan! Run!" I yelled. The roads in our neighborhood were very wide, so we still had to sprint to make it. I thought Ryan was right beside me, so I sprinted to the sidewalk and made it. I put my hands on my knees to catch my breath. "That was close, wasn't it Ryan?" I didn't hear a response. "Ryan?" I looked at the place he was supposed to be; it was empty._

_I dared to look at the road. There, lying still was my little brother. I ran to him and put him in my lap._

"_Come on, Ryan. Don't do this to me. Don't leave me." I begged. "Please." _

_I let out a sob. Tears started streaming down my cheeks. I gently placed two fingers on his neck to feel for a pulse. It was still. I didn't know what to do. I carefully picked him up and carried him to the safety of the sidewalk. _

_There was a funeral for him a week later._

_*End of Flashback*_

By the time I had finished remembering it I was sitting on the steps sobbing.

"Cali, what's wrong?" Travis asked. I dried all of my tears with the sleeve of my sweater and shook my head.

"Don't worry about it. Just a memory."

No one knew what had happened that day. None of my friends. Most never even knew I had had a brother. I took a shaky breath and stood up. Thankfully, Katie understood what I wanted and knocked on the door for me.

My older brother and sister, Matthew and Lynn opened the door. At first they only saw the other three since they were in front of me.

"Can we help you?" Lynn politely asked.

"Um…well, we have someone with us that would like to talk to you," Katie answered.

"And who might that be?" Matthew asked.

"Uh…me." I stepped out from behind them and smiled weakly. I was still shaken up from the memory.

"Cali?" Unison, as always. Stupid twins.

"Hey. Long time, no see, huh?"

They pulled me into a hug after they went through the stages of shock.

"Mom! Dad! Come here!"

Molly came rushing in, soon followed after by Fred.

"What is it?" Molly asked. Then she noticed me. "Cali?"

"Hey," I said, shifting from foot to foot. She rushed to hug me, but Fred stopped her.

"Why are you here?" he asked, looking at me…in disgust?

"I…I ran away." I wouldn't look at anyone.

"Let me change the emphasis. Why are you _here_?" he rephrased. I gaped at him.

"Because this is my home."

"Not anymore." With that, he pulled Molly, Lynn, and Matthew into the house, slamming the door. I stared, jaw dropped, at the once open doorway.

"Hey, it's alright. We can stay somewhere else," Travis suggested. My jaw snapped shut and I walked down the steps and path to the sidewalk. I glared at the house I once thought was home.

I gazed at the middle of the street. I saw Ryan lying there, unmoving. I quickly jerked my head away.

"Okay, seriously Cali, what happened here?" Travis asked.

I sighed. "It was eight years ago." I launched into my story and when I finished Katie was crying a little, Travis's mouth was hanging in horror, and Leo was glaring at the ground. I wiped away any shed tears and told them we should head out since it was already 1:00.

We were in my hometown, which was big, but everyone in my neighborhood knew me. My hometown was Manhattan, New York. We walked to an apartment building and sat down. I counted my money.

"I have $95. What about you guys?" They all counted.

"$80," Katie told me.

"$85," Leo said.

"Um…around $600," Travis said. We all stared at him.

"What candy shop did you steal from?" I asked.

"A lot," he mumbled. We got up and walked into the lobby.

"Hi, are there any apartments for sale?" I asked the desk clerk. He nodded without looking up. "May we buy one?" He shook his head. "And why not?"

He finally looked up at us from his computer screen. "Because you are all underage, girl." That made me angry.

"One, don't make assumptions. Two, I am eighteen years old. Three, my friends are, too. Four, I would like to buy an apartment." My voice rose on each number. He nodded, wide-eyed.

"Um…how much do you have to buy with?"

I did the math in my head. "$860 and we would like one of the cheaper apartments."

He nodded, and typed something into the computer. "Room 164 has two rooms, two baths, a kitchen, and a living room." He looked up at me for confirmation. I nodded. "It's…$645."

"We'll take it." I was handed the key and we took the elevator to room 164—our new home.

"You guys do know that we're the age of seniors and will have to go to school, right?" Katie informed.

I nodded. "If we can survive being demigods, we can go to high school."

They laughed and the elevator doors opened. Room 164 was literally across the hall, which was perfect. I took out the key and unlocked the door. The living room was the first room, and had a couch, two chairs, a table, and a TV.

We kept walking and found the kitchen. It had the regular kitchen appliances, and a dining table with four chairs around it.

We wound up in a bedroom that had two beds in it. The walls were a purple, and the bedspreads were white with designs the same shade of the purple. There was a walk-in closet and attached bathroom.

The next bedroom had a forest green color to the walls and two beds. The bedspreads were black with designs in the green. There was a bathroom off of there, too, and a walk-in closet.

Katie and I walked back into the first bedroom to unpack, while the two boys stayed in the second.

"What is the high school around here?" Katie asked.

"Well, actually, Goode High is around the corner."

"Great, the school we were almost killed in."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't worry. At least we'll know some people, right?"

We finished unpacking and I looked at the time; 5:53. I sighed.

"Who's hungry?" Leo asked. We all raised our hands. "Alright, who wants some tacos?"

"Count me in." I looked at the others. We hadn't said anything. I looked to the open door and saw…

**A/N: CLIFFHANGER! MWAHAHAGAHAHAHAGAHA! Anyway, tell me what you think and who you think it is. My next update will be the 6****th****. You're welcome. But if I don't get ten reviews, I won't update until the 10****th****.**

**Random Song of the Chapter: How to Save a Life by The Fray. **

**Note about song above: If you've ever seen the anime Fullmetal Alchemist, do you think it's exactly Edward and Al's situation? No? Just me? Okay.**

**Random Question: What state do you think I live in?**

**Note about question above: Please don't just answer the question. Talk about the CHAPTER too. Thank you!**

**~Cali**


	5. School Day

I Will Survive…Right?

**A/N: Hello, people of the internet! How are you? Anyway, I hope you enjoy chapter 5! **

**Disclaimer: Hi, my name is Cali. Wait, I **_**don't**_** own the Percy Jackson series? Damn it.**

_Previously: "Count me in." I looked at the others. We hadn't said anything. I looked to the open door and saw…_

**Cali's POV:**

Piper and Jason standing in the doorway. I stared at them, unsure if I should be angry or happy that they were there.

"I could go for some tacos." Piper let herself in and sat down next to Leo. "Tofu, please."

Leo rolled his eyes and muttered something about vegetarians. I laughed at him, but then remembered that I was supposed to be mad.

"What are you guys doing here?" They glanced nervously at each other.

"Well, um, we wanted to come find you. Chiron's kinda going crazy with worry," Piper explained.

"Why? I mean, I'm just me. Just a normal camper." But I knew that wasn't true. I'm not normal. I'm a goddess. But no one else put the pieces together. Yet.

"Come on, Cali. You know you aren't normal. Hell, we aren't normal either. But you can't run away from your problems," Jason said.

I shook my head. "You just…don't understand."

"Then would you care to explain? Because we have no idea what's going on in that big brain of yours," Travis joked.

I hesitated. What if it's a mistake? What if the Fates meant for me to marry Skylar and have a miserable life? Well, I'm immortal, so I would be in misery for eternity. UGH! I didn't know anymore!

"Guys, she's having a battle with herself. Give her some space." Thank you, Katie.

I mean what if Skylar's really a nice guy—wait. What am I thinking? He's the biggest jerk I'd ever met! That's it. I'm telling them. And so I launched into the blackmail story.

Leo was the first to recover from his anger. "I should've known. You wouldn't marry a jerk like that for no reason."

I averted my eyes from his to hide the pain in them. Do you have any idea how hard it is to talk about your soon-coming marriage in front of the person you love? Well, it's hard.

"Cal, why did you run away?" Jason asked softly.

"I…I wanted to…get away from it all." They looked at me, confused, so I elaborated. "I'm…I'm a goddess, and my parents want me to start my responsibilities as so ASAP." Katie and Piper gave me sympathy, but Travis, Leo, and Jason still looked confused.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "In order to start my duties—yes, Travis, I said duties. It's really not that funny—I have to get married. They arranged it—with Skylar."

Realization flashed over their features, but was soon replaced with anger.

Leo glared at the ground. "He's using you. I don't know what for, but I just know he is."

"Power?" Katie suggested.

"Or immortality?" Piper guessed.

"Or for…something else." Jason had a pained look on his face. I had always had big brothers in Percy, Jason, Travis, Ace and Nico (ironic, huh?), and Grover. For them to think of things like that, it must be pretty bad…

"Or worse—all of the above." Travis wouldn't look me in the eyes.

"Alright, let's stop thinking about…that. What am I going to do?" I stared at each and every one of them before moving my gaze to my lap. "I mean, I am _not _going back."

"But Cali, everyone's worried about you. You _have _to go back," Piper coaxed.

I laughed dryly. "Pipes, you and I both know your charmspeak doesn't work on me."

"It was worth a try," she mumbled.

I slipped out my phone; 9:48. "Well, I'm going to bed. Night."

They muttered good nights and I rushed to the room I shared with Katie. I fell asleep thinking about how I was a goddess, and how I would stop it from happening.

**Katie's POV:**

"Guys, what do we do?" I asked the group in a circle next to me.

"I can tell you what _I'm_ gonna do," Jason started, but Piper stopped him.

"Now, I know you three—" she stared pointedly at each boy "—want to hurt Skylar very much, but that wouldn't help any of our problems."

All but Leo nodded. He was still glaring at the ground.

"Let's get some sleep, we need to enroll in Goode High tomorrow morning," I told them. With that, Piper and I slept in my bed, and the three boys did who-knows-what. Boys are boys—you never know with them.

**Cali's POV:**

**The Next Morning:**

I woke to my phone alarm blaring in my ears at 6:00. I got up, took a shower, and dressed in my Camp Half-Blood t-shirt tied in the back with some faded jeans and black converse. By the time I finished it was 6:46. I thought about it, and decided to put in my contacts. I then brushed my hair into a ponytail and clasped my bracelet on my wrist, as well as my ring on my left middle finger. I had about forty-five minutes, so I brushed my teeth, put away my school things—lots of binders, and organized things—and read for about a half an hour.

Katie and Piper woke up around 7:15 and did their routines. I never had breakfast, but they did, so they ate while I sat in the living room staring off into space.

We left the apartment at 7:30, since school started at 7:50. We stopped at the lobby desk and got five more room keys.

When we got to the school we went straight to the office, heads held high. I knew what it was like to be the new girl—hell, I _was_ the new girl practically every year. My family moved a lot, and the last place we moved to was Manhattan, before I went to CHB.

We entered the office.

"Hi, ma'am, we are new and would like to enroll," I politely told the secretary.

"Alright, names please."

I hesitated. What _is_ my name?

"Cali Fiammetta," Katie answered for me. I stared at her.

"Uh…could you spell that please?"

"C-A-L-I, F-I-A-M-E-T-T-A," I said instinctively.

"What's your middle name, dear?"

"Fleur, F-L-E-U-R," I said.

"Grade?"

"Senior."

"Could I have a parent's name?"

"Um…" I thought for a moment. "Mother's _and_ father's?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Penelope and Aaron." Sorry, Mom and Dad.

"Birthdate?"

"January 9, 1996."

"Next person."

"Katie Gardner—G-A-R-D-N-E-R."

"Middle name?"

"Katrina."

"Are you all seniors?"

"Yes."

"Parents' names?"

"Jack and Daisy."

"Birthdate."

"May 7, 1996."

"Travis Stoll, Henry and Mary, and September 15, 1996."

"Jason Grace, Zachary and Beatrice, and June 25, 1996."

"Piper McLean, Tristan and April, February 14, 1996."

"Leo Valdez, Harry and Esperanza, and January 2, 1996."

"Alright, welcome to Goode High School. Here are your schedules. Just hold on a moment, please."

We nodded and sat on the bench provided.

"Aria!"

A petite blonde girl in a deep purple t-shirt came out and completely passed us.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Could you please show these new students around the school?"

The girl, Aria, shrugged. "Sure, Aunt Jamie."

"What have I told you about calling me that at school?" the secretary scolded.

Aria just shrugged her off and motioned for us to follow her. We did so and received a tour…unnecessarily.

"Um…we've been to this school before," I explained.

She stared at us intently. "I'm in the same grade as you, and have been going here all four years. I think I would remember you. When did you come?"

"Freshman," I said.

"Sophomore," Jason, Piper, and Leo said in unison. They had gone to another school before transferring.

"Junior," Travis and Katie said together.

Aria nodded at the others, but stared at me still. "You look…how's the nicest way to put it?"

"Just come out and say it." I was used to this.

"Different, yet familiar." She continues to look at me strangely with grey calculating eyes, but I just stand there patiently. "Who are you?"

"Cali." That was an easy question.

"No, no. Who are you _really_?" What was she getting at?

"I don't understand."

"Let me formally introduce myself." She held her hand out to me. "Aria Saggezza, daughter of Athena, at your service. Let's hope you're who I think you are. Otherwise, I told someone something I shouldn't have. I'm not crazy, I assure you."

I don't know why, but Piper started laughing. "I'm sorry, it's just…I already knew that. Anyone else?" Katie, Jason, and Leo raised their hands. Yes, I am _that_ oblivious.

"So…who are you guys?"

"Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter."

"Jason Grace, son of Zeus."

"Travis Stoll, son of Hermes."

"Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus."

"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite."

They all looked to me. I flushed. "I'd rather not say—"

"Cali Fiammetta, daughter of—" Katie started to answer for me, but I cut her off.

"No one; I'm pure mortal, but can see through the Mist," I lied. Everyone but Aria looked at me, confused. Aria was skeptical; I knew it. "So, how about we get to class, shall we?"

I didn't wait for anyone to answer. I started rushing toward my first period class: Mr. Blofis, Percy's step-father, teaching English.

I rushed into the classroom before the bell and sat in the back center. It was the perfect spot to sneak in some reading or writing without the teacher seeing.

Unfortunately, we all had the same schedule except for electives, so I was stuck with them in English. And skeptical Aria.

Jason sat in front of me, Piper to his left and Travis to his right. Leo sat to my left and Katie to my right. Aria sat in the front, being the Athena child she was.

"Why did you say you were mortal?" Jason asked me in a hushed tone. We still had about five minutes until class started.

I averted my eyes quickly. "I don't want to tell every demigod I meet I'm a goddess." I whispered so no one could hear our conversation. Little did I know, Aria was right behind my desk.

"You're a goddess?"

**A/N: Alright, there was chapter 5. Tell me how it was! Next update will be the 14****th****.**

**Random Song of the Chapter: You're Gonna Go Far, Kid by The Offspring**

**Random Question of the Chapter: What if our world is a popular novel, and someone walked up to you and said, "Oh my gods! You're my favorite character!" What would you do?**

**~Cali**


	6. The Worst Kind of Anniversary

I Will Survive…Right?

**A/N: Hey people of the internet! So, I hope you liked the cliffy. MWAHAHAHAGAHAGAHA. ****I am so sorry that I didn't upload on Monday, I was sick until yesterday and wasn't on my laptop _at all._** Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: So…here's my grocery list:**

**Eggs,**

**Milk,**

**Bread,**

**Own Percy Jackson.**

**Wait, that last one isn't sold in stores? eBay, here I come!**

_Previously: I averted my eyes quickly. "I don't want to tell every demigod I meet I'm a goddess." I whispered so no one could hear our conversation. Little did I know, Aria was right behind my desk._

"_You're a goddess?"_

**Cali's POV:**

I turned around, stumbling over my words as I panicked. "I—uh—no—what?"

"Who are you?" She repeated that same question for the third time. No. I would _not_ cave to this girl I only met less than a half an hour ago.

"Someone you don't need to worry about," I told her.

"Sure, I don't _need_ to, but I _want_ to."

"But I don't want you to."

"It's not your choice to make," she said defiantly.

Our conversation was cut short when Paul walked into the room. I knew Paul well—he was my father figure when my 'dad' went on business trips—aka every other week. I was over at Percy's house often, along with Ryan because I didn't want him home alone with the twins. Lynn was responsible. Most of the time. But Matthew wasn't. At all.

_Stop it, Calisto, _I scolded. _Don't think about Ryan. _

A lone tear slowly traced the side of my face, but I hastily wiped it away. Guilt cut through my chest like a knife into warm butter. If you'd ever ask me I'd deny it, but I blamed myself for his death. If I had just grabbed him as I ran…my mind trailed off.

I then realized that Paul was in front of my desk, and the whole class was staring at me. My cheeks were wet with tears and my friends were looking at me with concern. Aria was the only one looking curious. Everyone else, either pity or annoyance. I quietly excused myself to the bathroom and ran out of the classroom.

I knew the way to the bathroom all too well. If times were getting tough at home during Freshman through Junior year, I would go straight there.

I rushed into the biggest stall, locked the door, and slid down to my knees, leaning against the door for support, letting the sobs rack my body. Now let me tell you now; I am _not_ a pretty crier. In fact, I look horrid. My whole face would turn red, making my freckles a weird color. My eyes don't get very puffy, but do turn a little red. My mouth contorts and I have to gasp for breath.

I put my head on my knees and released all the pain that had been torturing me for eight years. Then I realized something: today was September 9th. The eighth year after Ryan's death. That was why I was so emotional; my subconscious knew and just decided not to tell me.

I took a shaky breath, regaining my composure. I slowly stood, opened the door and walked to the sink. I wiped my face with dry hands, collecting any stray tears with my dry fingers. Turning on the faucet, I washed my red face. Thankfully, the red faded from my features and my eyes went back to normal. My freckles were once again brown and I took deep breaths to keep myself from breaking down again.

I slipped my phone out and looked at the time; 8:43. I had seventeen more minutes of class. I could do this.

I took one last look at myself in the mirror and left to go back to class.

*Line Break*

I walked into the classroom with my head held high and sat in my desk, nodding once to Paul, telling him I would talk to him later and explain. He immediately understood and went back to the lesson. I was amazing in English thanks to _not_ having dyslexia. I was actually aspiring to become an author.

I already knew what he was teaching, so I tuned him out—in the most respectful aspect, of course. I took out my writing notebook and started working on a new story. Then a note landed on my desk. I looked at it with an eyebrow raised, but opened it.

_What happened?_

_-K_

I wrote a response telling her not to talk about it until lunch when I can explain to everyone.

She replied her confirmation and left it alone.

After class was brunch, so I went straight to Paul's desk.

"Okay Cali, what happened?" he asked softly.

"Today's the ninth, isn't it?" He processed my words and knew exactly what happened.

"Oh, Cali. Who knows?"

"Just you and me," I told him, looking down.

"You need to tell them."

"I will; at lunch." The bell rang to get to class. I had Greek Mythology next.

"Go to Greek. Relax, alright?"

I smiled. "Thanks, Paul."

"Anytime, Cali." He smiled warmly.

**Greek Mythology:**

The teacher this year was Mr. Bailey. I had second period with all of my friends and we sat together, fortunately not talking about what happened in first period. Everyone else, however, didn't seem to get the memo. I heard bits and pieces of conversations, talking about the 'new girl' whose name was unknown.

I ignored stares and listened to the lies mortals told. But what crossed the line was calling Dad the god of the moon, and Mom the goddess of winter. I raised my hand, really annoyed.

"Yes?" Mr. Bailey called on me.

"Sir, with all due respect, D—Apollo is the god of the _sun,_ and Persephone is the goddess of _springtime,_" I corrected.

"I think I would know the subject better than a student just learning."

"On the contrary, I am not 'just learning.' I started learning about this from birth," I countered.

"I highly doubt that."

I was seriously getting annoyed with this guy. "I bet I can teach this subject better."

"I bet you can't."

"I can name all the gods and goddesses, what they ar—were gods or goddesses of, they're Roman form, and they're sacred animal."

"I can…name all of Atlas' children."

"I can referee!" Travis suggested. I nodded to him. He grinned. "Alright, first we have Cali Fiammetta—"

"Travis, get on with it," I snapped.

"Fine. She's gonna name the gods and goddesses, they're regions, they're Roman names, and animals. Go."

"Zeus, god of the sky, king of the gods; Jupiter; and eagles." I thought about Thalia and Jason. "Hera, goddess of marriage and women, queen of the gods; wife of Zeus; Juno in Rom;, and peacock. Poseidon, god of the sea; Neptune; and horse." My mind wandered to Percy. "Hades, god of the Underworld; Pluto; and Cerberus." I blinked back tears as I thought about Nico and Ace. "Demeter, goddess of agriculture; Ceres; and the serpent." I smiled at Katie. "Athena, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy; Minerva; and the owl." I grinned at the thought of Annabeth. "Hermes, god of travelers, medicine, deceit, messenger of the gods; Mercury; and the tortoise." I rolled my eyes at the Stoll, who was looking pretty smug. "Artemis, goddess of the moon and the hunt; Diana; and the deer." I smiled, thinking of the Huntresses. "Apollo, god of the sun, truth, music, healing, and prophecy; the only god to have the same name in both Greek and Roman; and the wolf, the raven, and the lizard." I thought of Dad's lullaby. "Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty; Venus; and the dove." I smirked at Piper. "Ares, god of war; Mars; and the boar." I shuddered at the thought of Clarisse and her siblings. "Hephaestus, god of fire, blacksmiths, and craftsmen; Vulcan; and the crane." I thought of Leo and smiled. "Persephone, goddess of _springtime;_ Proserpina; and bats." I thought of the white rose in the cabin. "Hestia, goddess of the hearth; Vesta; and donkey." I took a breath. "Do I say the minor as well?"

"No, we don't want to be here all day, Smarty," Travis said. I rolled my eyes. "And now, Mr. Bailey will name Atlas' children."

"Calliope, Diana, Hydra, and Heracles."

I couldn't help but snort. "I think you mean Calypso, Dione, Hyas, and Hesperus."

His face turned beet red, and he stormed out of the classroom. Everyone—except for my friends—was staring wide-eyed at me. I smirked. The smirk vanished when I noticed the principal in the doorway. I sighed, grabbed my backpack, slung it over my shoulder, and walked out, following the principal.

I heard footsteps behind me, but when I turned around I saw no one. I shrugged it off the first couple of times, but by the fifth one I was frustrated.

I fingered my bracelet, but never triggered a weapon. I wished Grover was there. He could find monsters quickly. I mean what if the principal was a monster, and he was leading me into a trap? Wait. We passed the office. And now we were in the parking lot.

"You really thought you would get away that easily?" At first I thought he was working for Skylar.

"From what?" My plan? PLAY DUMB.

"Silly girl, you can't escape your fate." His grinned manically.

"Principal Lori, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Your brothers were taken, and your destiny is the same," he explained, mock pity evident in his cold, stony eyes.

"Who took my brothers?" I demanded.

"Awww, so cute. You actually think I would tell you," he cooed, as if I were the most adorable little thing.

The mini radio attached to his belt made noises I couldn't quite make out, but he obviously could. His face went slack. He quickly grabbed it and talked into it. "Are you sure, sir?" More noises. "Yes, sir."

"What did 'sir' say?" I asked.

"He…he told me to tell you who he is." He did _not_ look happy about that.

"Okay, so who took my brothers?" I was trying really hard to be casual, but on the inside I was freaking out.

"My boss is…"

**A/N: Cliffy! MWAHAHAGAHAHAHAGAHA! What did you think? Good? Amazing? Totally awesome and you teared up a little bit because you were so touched by my astounding writing? Next update will be on the 19****th**** of April.**

**Random Song of the Chapter: Sail by AWOLNATION**

**Random Question of the Chapter: Who do you think it is?**

**~Cali**


	7. Hey, Dad

I Will Survive…Right?

**A/N: I love cliffhangers. Can't you tell? MWAHAHAGAHAHAHAGAHA! Now that that's over with, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Check out the poll on my profile. It's about your favorite OC, and I may have added a few characters…**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of ways to say this…I'M NOT RICK.**

_Previously: "Okay, so who took my brothers?" I was trying really hard to be casual, but on the inside I was freaking out._

"_My boss is…"_

**Cali's POV:**

"…Helios."

I gaped at him. "You mean the sun titan? Why would he want _me?_"

"Because Apollo took the thing most precious to him. So he wants to do the same, and you are the thing most precious to Apollo."

I snorted. "As if. I mean, have you met me? I am _far_ from 'precious.'"

"Not to Apollo."

I rolled my eyes. "So if this pointless conversation is over, can I go? I kind of wanted to survive until at least fifth period, and it's only second."

"Sorry, but no can do. The boss wants to get you in his grasp, then finish his, ah, plan." He smiled wickedly, causing me to shudder involuntarily.

"Okay…so, is this, er, plan going to take long? I want to make it until lunch. Ooh, even better. Could you kidnap me _after_ lunch?" What? I like food. Don't judge me.

He thought about it. "He didn't say _when_ he wanted you by…so sure. Eat up while you still can. But meet me here by the end of fifth period, got it?"

Maybe this guy wasn't so smart after all…

Anyway, I agreed, but made sure to cross my fingers behind my back the entire time. Oh, the joys of being a back-stabbing teenager.

I rushed back into the school, and we had 'talked' for two periods. So it was fourth period, and we had fifteen more minutes until lunch. I went straight to the office to get my pass.

"Oh, hello, dear. What can I do for you?" the secretary asked.

"Um, hi, can I get a pass to fourth period? I was talking to the principal for…a while." I was still a little freaked out from learning who took my brothers.

She furrowed her brow, but nodded. "Sure, are you alright?"

I was thinking about my brothers, and was startled to hear her voice for some reason. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." I managed a small smile from somewhere within my flustered self.

She didn't look very convinced, but kept writing my note. She signed it and handed it to me. I read it, just out of curiosity.

_Calisto, I'm a satyr, and know that you are a goddess. I can also tell that you've been around a…being, as well. I am Aria's guardian, but she doesn't know that I am a satyr. You said that you were with the principal. I haven't been around him enough to smell what he is. Do you know?_

_Jamie_

I looked from the note to her, then back at the note. For once in my life, I was speechless.

But now that I thought about it, I couldn't tell who he was.

I handed back the note. "I don't think that this would get me back into class." But I made sure to put down the walls in front of my eyes for just a moment, telling her I read it. As quick as it came down, my walls were back in place and no emotion but happiness was evident.

"Of course, Cali." She wrote me a real pass and gave it to me. I smiled my thanks and walked to Music class with a new teacher.

*Line Break*

I stepped into the classroom and was welcomed by a man I had never seen in this school, but was oddly familiar. He had wispy blonde hair, sky blue eyes with a gold ring around the pupil, and a blinding white smile—wait.

"Dad?" I whispered, hoping I wasn't asking some random dude if he was my dad. I was relieved when he grinned wider and winked.

"Hi, you must be a new student. I'm Mr. Verita, the music teacher," he said, acting 'natural.' I discreetly rolled my eyes, but made sure Dad could see. "Would you like to introduce yourself to the class?"

I cleared my throat. "Um, my name is Cali, I'm from…Arizona, and I love reading, writing, and singing." I made sure to mumble the part about singing since no one knew I could sing.

"What was that last part?" my dad asked, knowing what I said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Verita," I replied innocently.

"Did you say, you love singing?" He raised an eyebrow. I hate that even though he's the god of truth, he's a great actor. He was just kind enough to give me some of those skills as well.

"No, sir, I said that I love reading and writing." I bit back my smirk. I loved our 'innocence wars,' as he called them.

"Would you care to sing in front of the class?" Damn it, he won.

My urge to smirk was gone, and my eyes widened in fear. I mean, I could talk and act in front of people, but not sing.

I quickly unfroze and pulled myself together. "No, sir, may I take my seat now?" I stared deep into his eyes, pleading. He soon gave in.

"Yes, you may." I sighed, relieved, and sat next to a brunette guy. Wait, a familiar brunette guy.

"Grover?"

**A/N: I wanted a shorter chapter since I've been giving you all super duper long chapters lately. Anyway, I hope you liked it! Next update: April 22****nd****. See you then!**

**Random Song of the Chapter: Who We Are by Imagine Dragons**

**Random Question of the Chapter: Why don't you answer my random questions anymore?**

**~Cali**


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